Filmmaker Statement

Growing up in Wisconsin taught me to appreciate things often overlooked outside the state, like determination, hard blue-collar work, and the perseverance of our state's flagship industry—dairy farmers. The dairy industry is the state's lifeblood, emblazoned on our license plates, studied by our university system, and celebrated by our sports teams. I made it my life's work to follow a fourth-generation dairy Swiss dairy farmer from Monroe to learn how he navigated this challenging dairy economy. Through his creativity, ingenuity, and passion, he was able to figure it out. But, each day, the state loses another farm, and I made it my mission to explore the industry challenges, including milk pricing, farmer depression and suicide, transition, and the rising cost of input and production costs that threaten their very existence. I hope this film creates a dialogue and gives people in Wisconsin and beyond an honest, realistic portrait of today's dairy economy.